99 Dodge Dakota R/t Battery Is Draining

How long can a battery last without a functioning alternator?

The answer to this depends on the age of the vehicle. If we are talking about a really old car from about the 1970’s and earlier, you could run the engine for days if you don’t turn on any lights or run the heater or radio, because the only thing other than lights, the cabin blower, or the radio in an old vehicle is the spark ignition, which needs very little energy at all to function.,These early engines used a fan that was direct-driven by the engine, but they would overheat easily if the engine sat idling for long periods, because a slow fan doesn’t move much air through the radiator.Newer vehicles changed from having a cooling fan direct-driven by the engine, to using a separate electric fan with a thermostat that cycles on and off as needed. These can tolerate long periods of idling without overheating, but it increases the load on the electrical system.,There was also a transition from carbureted engines to electronic fuel injection, which added more electric load in newer vehicles. Carbureted engines typically used a simple cam-driven fuel pump that delivered low pressure fuel in surges to fill the carburetor float bowl.But fuel injection requires a constant pressure fuel rail to assure consistent injector results. This is delivered by a fuel pump in the gas tank that runs continuously with the engine running to provide a constant high pressure to the injectors so that they work properly.,Computers in modern vehicles do not use much power by themselves, but they are commonly used to control magnetic solenoids and servos, which may control the engine timing, or change the number of valves that open in cylinders, or change the throttle body shape, or control shifting in electromagnetic clutch packs in an automatic transmission.All of this adds up to increased power consumption in a modern vehicle that will reduce the time a battery can continue to function without the alternator, even if all the marker and headlight lamps are turned off.

Why does the steering wheel lock up while driving?

What Causes the Steering Wheel to Lock Up? | eHow Losing control of your car's steering is a terrifying experience, one that can lead to a crash with horrific consequences. If this happens to you, then you must try to bring your vehicle to a stop at once and determine the cause of steering wheel lock-up before you drive your car again. There are a number of reasons why your car's steering has suddenly locked up including:Key MechanismNot every steering wheel problem occurs when you have the transmission engaged and are heading down the road. Sometimes, drivers report that their steering wheel stays locked even after inserting the key into the ignition. When that happens, the car probably cannot be started let alone driven. More than likely the key assembly has worn out and needs to be replaced. However, before calling your auto mechanic, try to move the wheels to the left and to the right as sometimes the steering column "catches," a problem that can be resolved if you jiggle the wheel.Lock PinGeneral Motors issued a pair of recalls for the C5 Chevrolet Corvette (1997-2004 models) due to problems with locked steering. In addition to being locked while starting, owners complained that in some cases their cars could be driven but with no control of steering. This problem is due to a lock pin that fails to withdraw fully, allowing contact between the pin and lock plate. Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) website (see Resources) for information about recalls #04006B and #04006C or call your Chevrolet dealer.ConclusionWhile the three causes mentioned here are among the top reasons why a steering wheel may lock up, there could be other reasons. Contact an auto mechanic for assistance, or if you are handy with repairs, consult a Haynes or Chilton repair manual (or anything similar) for guidance.

What problems go along with a bad catalytic converter?

A clogged catalytic convertor causes the symptoms of a loss of power when accelerating or going up a hill. This is an often overlooked cause of loss of power, can cause check engine fault codes and lights, and mechanics will often change a few parts unnecessarily , especially if it is only partially plugged. A couple ways I check for plugged cats when a low power complaint is a symptom, and other obvious basic maintenance items have been checked for service is to have someone hold the rpm at about 1800 to 2000 steady. Then check for a good push of exhaust with my hand from behind the tailpipe. A plugged or partially plugged cat typically leaves a hot sickly feeling exhaust flow from the tailpipe. Compare to a known good working car nearby, known to be performing properly and with the same amount of cylinders. That slow , hot sickly flow at 2000 rpm compared to the hard push blowing your hand away of a not clogged cat is a dead giveaway, and I have NEVER misdiagnosed a plugged cat , or made false diagnosis with this method. Another way is watching a vacuum gauge connected to the intake manifold. When revving up, if the exhaust is plugged the gauge reading will climb then begin to slowly drop as the exhaust pressure builds up. Further testing will be needed to verify which part of the exhaust is plugged. Diagnostic by codes is unreliable and until now I had not heard of it. A code p420 only refers to catalyst efficiency. And can be set by faulty o2 sensors. Removing the exhaust and testing for engine power returning to normal works. But the hot sickly flow has been most accurate with my experience, in several cases where shops had missed it, were stumped and called me to come check. They are always embarrassed for missing the simplicity, but need not, as cars and their complicated electronics and even age old problems can lead to loss of power without any immediately obvious cause.

What happens if you attempt to drive with a broken serpentine belt?

The serpentine belt powers many different accessories and required pieces of equipment on an engine. You can live without the air conditioner. The car is usable for a short time without the alternator working if you have a good battery. You can man handle the steering wheel without power steering. Some cars have a smog/emissions control pump that needs to work or the engine will run rough or even not at all.BUT, you will overheat your engine if the water pump is not turning and pumping coolant through the engine and radiator. You could make a short drive of 5 minutes or so before engine heat would be a problem. Hopefully, that is to a mechanic who will replace the broken serpentine belt.

What happens if you drive your car with no power steering fluid?

Contrary to the other answers, steering a car with failed power steering is quite possible. It is difficult at low speed, and extremely difficult when stopped, but it can be done. You'll build your arm and chest muscles doing it for any extended period of time.My '87 Mercury leaked power steering fluid like a seive, and I was still able to drive it - even pulling a trailer - without the hydraulic boost.But the other answers are correct that doing so can and eventually will cause the power steering pump to fail. That in and of itself is bad, but it's not the worst thing, especially if you are far from home when it happens.Most modern cars use what's called a serpentine belt to run the engine accessories: the air conditioning compressor, alternator, power steering pump, and radiator fan are all run by the same belt. If one of these fails, the belt can snap, leaving you with an engine that will quickly fail due to either overheating or lack of electrical power.In short, keep at least enough fluid in the pump to keep the shaft lubricated, even if it's not enough to make the system work.

Is it safe to drive a vehicle without power steering fluid?

No it’s not. While you CAN drive without it, the potential failure could result in stranding you on the side of the road. Anything built in the last 15 years most likely has a serpentine belt system that powers all your accessories.When you run out of power steering fluid, the bearings in your power steering pump no longer have lubrication available to keep them cool. Those bearings will fail, the pump will seize and that will result in your serpentine belt to fight against one accessory that is no longer moving. The belt will fly off the engine and all other accessories, water pump, A/C, alternator etc will be powerless and your vehicle will shortly cease to run from overheating or dead battery.

How many amps come through my car cigarette lighter?

I've seen fuses rated anywhere from 5A to 20A protecting a lighter socket.Note that it's never a good idea to install a larger fuse to get more power out of the socket if you find that yours is rated for only 5A; its rating is chosen for a reason. If it currently (no pun) has only a 5A fuse, then its wiring is rated to carry no more than 5A and a larger fuse will convert that wiring into a big fuse that's really, really difficult to replace. Smells awful when it blows, too... and it might also take out something much more important if it does. I've replaced too many big wads of melted-together wiring caused by the ill-thought-out actions of others.

How do you bump-start a car with an automatic transmission?

In most (if not all) cases, you cannot "bump-start" a car equipped with an automatic transmission by getting it rolling "in gear" (either by pushing, pulling, rolling down a hill, or otherwise).There are a few reasons, all of which tend to have to do with fluid pressure.First, many/most automatic transmissions utilize a fluid coupler called a torque converter to connect the engine to the transmission. The engine turns the outer housing of the torque converter, which has vanes inside it. The vanes move through fluid and cause the fluid to begin to flow around within the torque converter. This fluid flow then turns a similar set of vanes on an impeller within the torque converter housing, but not connected to it. The impeller *is* connected to the automatic transmission's input shaft. If that sounds sorta complicated, imagine two house fans facing each other. If you turn one on, the other will eventually start to rotate as the air moved by the first pushes against the blades of the second. That's what a torque converter does ... but with fluid instead of air, and much higher speeds and pressures.So, thinking about such an arrangement for a moment, you can imagine that it takes considerable RPM to get the fluid flowing enough to move the impeller. Well, bump-starting would need to obtain an even greater RPM, because you'd be doing the opposite: using the smaller impeller to drive the bigger housing, which is connected to the engine, which tends to resist turning due to compression within the cylinders.But things don't even get that close when trying to bump-start a car with an automatic transmission.To oversimplify things a bit: The input shaft of an automatic transmission drives a fluid pump that forces fluid through the various passages in the transmission to cause the planetary gearset to engage its various gears to ultimately cause the output shaft to rotate. But when the engine isn't running, the input shaft isn't turning, so the fluid pump isn't turning, so there isn't any fluid pressure to engage the planetary gears . So, even though you can cause the output shaft to rotate by pushing the car, it won't cause the input shaft to turn.There are some great "how it works" pages on the web to help explain this better if you want to know more. Just google it.

Why do my hazard lights work, but not my turn signals?

Hazard lights and turn signals use the same bulb, so it is not the bulb, the lamp, or the cables to them. Turn signals only work when the ignition is on; hazard lights work whether the ignition is on or not. The two systems have separate power supplies, so they have separate fuses. You may have a blown fuse.Different vehicles use different circuits, and it is not possible to accurately diagnose the fault with the small amount of information provided. You need a circuit diagram and a voltmeter, and a continuity tester. First locate and test the turn signal fuse. Do you have voltage to and from the turn signal switch?The hazard light switch is not a simple on/off switch. In the “on” position, a fused battery feed connects to left and right turn signal. In the “off” position, the left turn switch wire is connected to the left turn lamp and the right turn switch wire is connected to the right turn lamp, so there are 3 inputs and 2 outputs.The fault could be a fuse, turn signal switch, hazard switch, flasher unit, or a broken wire or connection.